The Heavyhands strength endurance exercise system, described in the books "Heavyhands Walking" and "The Heavyhands Walking Book-" both by Leonard Schwartz, utilizes a weight that is held in an exerciser's hand. The weight has a strap that fits across the back of the hand and facilitates the exerciser holding the hand weight while the exerciser moves his arm in a prescribed fashion. Ideally, the strap only provides support which aids the exerciser in holding the hand weight but does not constrict the hand and thereby hinder blood flow throughout the hand. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,526 to L. Schwartz, a simple strap is disclosed with respect to the hand weight. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,618 by L. Schwartz, a sleeve with a three-sided rigid member therein is disclosed which essentially forms the strap. The three-sided rigid member is not connected to an elongate rigid member having a predetermined weight, but the sleeve is connected to it. This strap does not hinder blood flow to the hand since the sleeve is made out of a material which can be stretched when the hand, for instance, is squeezed together to grip the elongate rigid member. However, because there is a three-sided rigid member within the sleeve, the sleeve does not conform well to the back of the hand when expanded. In addition, because the three-sided rigid member is not connected to the elongate rigid member, the sleeve does not have structural support at its points of connection to the elongate rigid member. This can contribute to the hand weight moving more than desired on the exerciser's hand during vigorous exercise.
The present invention provides a hand weight that has an expandable strap. The expandable strap is supported at the points it connects to a weighted portion which is gripped by the hand of an exerciser, yet is conformable to the back of the hand.